


misstep (miss you)

by dishonestdreams, MistressKat, pushkin666



Category: Strictly Come Dancing RPF
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Ficlet, M/M, Round Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24587272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dishonestdreams/pseuds/dishonestdreams, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressKat/pseuds/MistressKat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pushkin666/pseuds/pushkin666
Summary: Bruno's eyes are round as buttons now, his earlier bravado all but gone. "What the fuck, Craig?" he says. "I made a mistake, I apologise. That's how it works, right?"Craig clenches his hands together. Bruno really doesn't understand what he's done, how his actions of the previous night have harmed them. "And that makes it all okay does it?" he says, his voice clipped and tight.
Relationships: Craig Revel Horwood/Bruno Tonioli
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	misstep (miss you)

**Author's Note:**

> Have some angst.

"Bruno," Craig says, tightly, and every syllable of Bruno's name weighs like a ton of rock on his tongue. He has never fought so hard to say so little in as long as he can remember, and, despite his best intentions, his fingers curl into fists by his side, vicious intent clear in the bite of his nails into his own palms. 

It is clearly utterly unreasonable that Bruno should be able to elicit this response from him. It's more unreasonable that Bruno should be utterly unaware of the same. _And yet._

"Craig," Bruno calls out, delight clear in his voice, and Craig scrapes his teeth hard across his bottom lip. It is... less helpful than he had hoped in managing the irritation humming beneath his skin. "Come see!"

He goes. Of course, he fucking does, because Bruno only needs to hint at wanting something and Craig usually makes it happen. Unless he decides that it's best for Bruno to _not_ get what he wants. 

Craig follows Bruno's voice to the garden, finds him standing in the middle of it arms spread like a circus director. "Ta-dah!" he says. "A feast!"

It definitely is. The table is spread with a generous picnic, a bottle of white wine sitting in a bucket of ice. There are fairy lights strung between the trees and the bushes, invisible now but probably downright magical in a few hours when the evening sets in. 

Craig grits his teeth. This is just... So very Bruno. To think he could smooth everything over with a grand gesture, to show up at Craig's house - using the spare key Craig had given for emergencies, and this did _not_ qualify - after the way things ended last night and expect everything to be fine. 

He really doesn't want this to happen. Oh, it's typical of Bruno but Craig isn't happy. 

Now the question is, what is he supposed to do? Should he just enjoy what Bruno has done or should he ignore what Bruno has done? There are a number of chairs in his garden and Craig sits down in one of them looking over at Bruno.

"So, what is this?" he asks, plainly wanting an answer from Bruno

It's almost as though he's unleashed shock and horror from the expression he sees on Bruno's face. Like he should have just accepted what Bruno has done.

Bruno waves his arm over the garden. "What do you mean?" he responds.

"Don't play dumb," Craig says, sharp and short, and Bruno's eyes narrow.

"So," Bruno says, disbelievingly, and Craig grits his teeth against the instinctive desire to put Bruno firmly into his place. Whatever that might be; he hasn't entirely decided in this scenario. "You would rather we argue than accept my apology?"

Craig smiles. It’s more teeth than humour, he suspects, but Bruno does have a tendency to elicit that response in him. "I haven't heard an apology yet."

"Not all apologies need to be given words," Bruno says, quickly, and the smile he throws at Craig's sharp look is correspondingly tight. "You could consider _not_ being so... _you_ about it."

Craig exhales, long and slow, rolling with the punch. Because that's what it feels like. 

"That why you left last night?" he asks, refusing to look away. "I was being too... _Me?_ "

Bruno blinks, genuinely bewildered. "What?"

"Why bother coming back then?" And now the anger leeches through, laced with not a little hurt. The vulnerability makes him even angrier. At himself but also at Bruno. "Why bother with apologising if that's how you feel?"

Bruno's eyes are round as buttons now, his earlier bravado all but gone. "What the fuck, Craig?" he says. "I made a mistake, I apologise. That's how it works, right?"

Craig clenches his hands together. Bruno really doesn't understand what he's done, how his actions of the previous night have harmed them. "And that makes it all okay does it?" he says, his voice clipped and tight.

"You say you're sorry, you do this," he waves his arms at the spread before him, "and I forget everything. Forgive everything, allow you to get away with your actions once again."

Bruno runs his hand through his hair and takes a step forward. "Craig, you are being overly dramatic, there is no need for it. I have apologised and that is all that matters."

"No," Craig bites out. "That is not all that matters. What matters is why you left. Again. It has become a habit with you over the last month or so." And that's the thing. Craig is hurt at Bruno's actions, does not understand why after they have had a pleasant evening together Bruno should just leave. And as for sex, well Craig can't even remember the last time that happened. It's like they are two ships passing in the night.

He keeps his gaze on Bruno's face. "I think you'd better go," he says "and you can give me back your keys before you leave." Bruno looks stricken but Craig doesn't care. He doesn't want to do this anymore. What they had had been good but he's tired of sitting and waiting for Bruno to pull away.

"Craig, no." Bruno steps towards him but Craig puts his hands up as though holding him off. 

"No," he says. "No matter what you say it won't be enough. This is not enough. Just go."

Bruno stares at him for a moment and then he takes a step into Craig's space. He reaches into his pocket and takes out his bunch of keys. Looking down he carefully takes off the two keys that Craig had been so happy to give him months before. Bruno holds them out and Craig takes them. Bruno lifts his hand and places it against Craig's cheeks briefly. 

"Goodbye Craig," he says, turning, and walks away.


End file.
